Book Review and Giveaway: Blood Red Road by Moira Young

Saba loves her brother more than anything else in her bleak world, so when bandits kidnap him and kill her father, Saba sets off to save him with her younger sister Emmi.

Despite having read good early reviews, I had a hard time getting into BLOOD RED ROAD.  Saba is uneducated and so the book is written in a dialect that I found grating at first.  After 50 pages, I was still wondering what all the fuss was about. But then, sometime around Saba’s debut as a cage fighter, I was fully immersed and didn’t put the novel down again until I was finished.

It’s a brutal vision of a Mad Max-like future with a crackpot despot, tough fighters and bounty hunters, chaal (drug) addicts and a host of desperate poor.  But for all its action and high-stakes plot, BLOOD RED ROAD is not without heart, thanks to the decency Saba brings to her interactions with her infuriating younger sister Emmi, fellow cage fighters and even a love interest.  The whole heartstone thing was kinda cheesy, but I loved it.  If only we all had one of those ...

Zombie chickens say:  "We highly recommend this one - but beware of sandstorms!" (Explanation of zombie chicken ratings)

BLOOD RED ROAD is the first book in the Dustlands trilogy and is available in hardcover now.  Find out more about it at the official website. Watch the trailer. Add it to GoodReads.

Song for the Ultimate Dystopian Playlist:  Ready to Start by Arcade Fire. Sample lyric: "All the kids have always known, that the emperor wears no clothes.  But they bow down to him anyway, it's better than being alone."


Simon & Schuster is sponsoring a giveaway of 5 copies of the BLOOD RED ROAD hardcover.  For a chance to win, fill out this form by August 6, 2011 at 11:59 pm CST.  Open US and Canada only.


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